Disks for Estonia

Lithuania's Baltic Optical Disc, the only manufacturer of optical discs in the Baltic countries, is planning to open a plant in Estonia this year and hopes to gain a foothold in the Nordic market, the business newspaper Verslo Zinios reported.

The costs of setting up the plant will total an estimated 1.2 million litas (348,000 euros), while production equipment to produce up to 2 million compact discs annually will cost an additional 1 million litas.

Baltic Optical Disc's plant in Vilnius has an annual production capacity of 5 million compact discs.

"The company's headquarters will remain in Lithuania," said Virgaudas Janulevicius, the company's CEO. "In Estonia, we will set up a regional production unit."

According to Verslo Zinios, compact discs distributed with printed publications or catalogs account for about 40 percent of Baltic Optical Disc's production output. CDs for music recordings account for the rest.

"In Central European plants, the 'catalog' discs' share of production hovers at around 90 percent," Janulevicius said. "We see the possibility of expanding into this market segment in Lithuania."

Baltic Optical Disc posted revenues of 9.5 million litas for 2002, up from 5 million litas in 2001. The company's output reached 3.9 million CDs last year, almost double the amount produced in 2001.

Baltic Optical Disc exports 55 percent to 60 percent of its output. The company is working together with catalog producers in Sweden and Denmark, and plans to expand its export market in Finland. It hopes to step up exports to between 70 percent and 75 percent of total output this year.

In 2003, Baltic Optical Disc expects to increase its revenues by 15.8 percent to 11 million litas and to boost its annual production output by 28.2 percent to 5 million CDs.